Love and Dance
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: A parody of the movie musical "Hairspray". I do not own the characters...Helga Pataki admires the boy on the local dance show, and takes her chance to be on the show with him, although in public she can't show her affection. When she discovers the segregation problems and is pulled into them, she plans to show that talent isn't only skin deep and anyone can change the world. R&R!
1. Chapter 1: Day In The Life

**A/N: Hi! I know I'm writing several stories, but I'm ahead with all of them, so enjoy this. This storyline just came into my head recently. It's a Hey Arnold-ified version of the movie _Hairspray. _Here's a run-up of the main characters and who they represent:**

**Helga Pataki: Tracy Turnblad**

**Arnold: Link Larkin**

**Phoebe Heyerdahl: Penny Pingleton**

**Gerald Johanssen: Seaweed Stubbs**

**Brooke Wellington-Lloyd: Velma Von Tussle**

**Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd: Amber Von Tussle**

**Timberly Johanssen: "Li'l" Inez Stubbs**

**And so on. But I know a lot of people will be asking why I put Rhonda as Amber, rather than Lila. Simple: We need a character to be Amber's mom, and since Lila doesn't seem to have a mom... Also, Lila is far too nice to be Amber. Plus, I sometimes thought Rhonda had a little crush on Arnold.**

**Main storyline: It's spring of 1962. Black Civil Rights and integration are fighting against the old ways. Meanwhile, Helga Pataki, a girl with a dream, gets her chance to shine, and she shows that she doesn't have to be pretty to both change the world and snag the boy who stole her heart. All it takes is love, determination...and a little bit of hairspray!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from "Hairspray" or "Hey Arnold".**

It was a Monday morning in the spring of 1962 in Hillwood, and everything started off the way it always did. Sixteen-year-old Helga Geraldine Pataki woke up at the alarm, wishing she could've slept through it as usual, dragged herself out of bed, got dressed, put her hair in pigtails (using plenty of hairspray to secure them) added her pink bow, then grabbed an apple to eat on the way to school. Hillwood High was the only high school in the catchment area, and in her opinion, it wasn't exactly the best school, but she didn't really care.

Yet again, she missed the school bus and had to run most of the way to school. The bell rang just as she got to her locker, where her best friend, Phoebe Heyerdahl, was waiting.

"Come on, we'll be late for class!" Phoebe exclaimed, and they both ran to geography class.

However, halfway through class, a boy sitting near Helga at the back raised his hand to complain. "I can't see the board."

The teacher immediately saw the cause, and called the girl to order. "Helga Pataki, how many times do I have to tell you that if you keep wearing your hair inappropriately, I will have no choice but to give you a detention."

"What's inappropriate about them, Ms Slovak?" Helga demanded. "They're just pigtails."

"They are inappropriate because they are obscuring the sight of the other students." Ms Slovak said. "If there is one more complaint about your hair, it'll be detention for you."

Helga didn't really care about detention, or anything in school. There was only one thing she cared about, one person she cared about above all others. It was all she thought about most of the time, and as the day wore on, she couldn't stand it. She stared at the clock, willing it to be three o'clock. When the bell finally rang, she shot out of her seat, found Phoebe, and ran to the school bus, and after getting to the stop, she and Phoebe continued running, right up to the doorstep of her house, although she did poke her head into her dad's phone store around the corner to say hi. Not that Bob ever acknowledged it, but he noticed when she didn't.

"Come on, Pheebs, we're running late!" Helga yelled as she ran to the living room and switched the TV on. Her favourite show was on, all right.

"Hey there, teenage Hillwood!" the host announced. "Don't change that channel, because it's time for the show with all the hottest new moves! Brought to you by Ultraclutch Hairspray!" The show was only local, and the main dancers were in it were from the same school as the girls, but they still watched the show religiously.

The theme song began, and the two girls watched, Helga occasionally humming a bit of the tune. It was a show to promote the new dances, with a council of twenty teens. But she didn't really care about dance, as such. There was one reason she watched it. Phoebe liked the show, but she only really watched it because Helga did. The only time she really watched of her own choice was the monthly Negro Day show. The usual group of kids were all white, due to segregation, but they gave one day a month to give the black teenagers a chance to shine.

Helga did laugh a bit at times. The female lead dancer kept losing step, and she even fell over at one point and pushed another girl out of the way at another time.

"_Roll call!" _announced the host and dancers.

The usual line-up began with the lead female dancer first. "_I'm Rhonda!"_

"_Sid!"_ He had to shove Rhonda out of the way.

"_Nadine!"_

"_Curly!:"..._The role call went on like this.

Then.. "_Lulu!"_

"_Hilda!"_

Helga immediately paid full attention as the lead male dancer sauntered forward. "_And I'm...Arnold." _

Helga sighed dreamily. Phoebe glanced, but didn't comment. She knew well about her friend's secret crush on the teenage heartthrob, and she wasn't alone with that crush. Everyone at school seemed to be in love with him. Phoebe could still remember the time a few of the freshman girls mobbed him in the halls.

But Helga's feelings went deeper. She'd never spoken to Arnold, but she tried to get his attention in other ways. She often talked about him scornfully to other people. "Thinks he's so great just because he's on a tacky little show. How did he manage to get on there with that football head, anyway? I mean, he's not really the best looking guy ever, is he?" She also took every opportunity she had to push past him in the hallways. He would always just ignore her.

Everyone knew that version of Helga, the tough mean girl who didn't care about anyone or anything. Most people thought that she hated Arnold for no real reason. But when she was alone, Helga turned into a different person. Only Phoebe occasionally saw her friend's vulnerable side, but usually kept quiet about it.

Helga was obsessed with Arnold, completely. She'd written poetry about him all the time, with lines like "_Why must I hold you only whilst I dream?" _and "_Wandering the dismal depths of my tormented soul." _She'd also built a shrine resembling Arnold which she kept in her closet. She'd even been able to get ahold of a picture of Arnold, which she kept in a heart-shaped locket. Not that it wasn't typical fangirl behaviour, but Helga felt that her feelings went deeper, that she actually loved Arnold. She longed to know him properly, speak to him, let him know how she felt. She also learned all the dances of the show, feeling as if she was on the show, dancing alongside him.

The theme ended, and Helga jumped up, ready to start learning the new dance. At that moment, her mom walked in.

"Oh, hi, Helga." she said with a weak smile. "Hi, uh...Phoebe. How was school?" She was, as usual, looking disorientated.

"It was as usual, Miriam." Helga said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "A waste of time."  
"Oh, right, that's good." Miriam murmured, not taking anything in as usual. "Just make sure you finish watching TV at seven, honey."

"I know, I know." Helga muttered. "Bob's got his commercial on, then he's got his favourite game show to watch." she explained to Phoebe. Bob was completely wrapped up in his successful shop. The only person in his family he ever paid real attention to was Olga, Helga's successful talented twenty-seven-year-old sister who had been living across town for the last three years and came over often.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Helga sighed and went to answer it. She put on a smile when she saw who was there. "Oh, hi, Mr Heyerdahl."

Kyo Heyerdahl didn't smile. "Hello, Helga." he said. "Is Phoebe over here? She's meant to be at her fencing session at home after school."

There was no point in lying, as Phoebe had come into the hallway. Kyo glared at his daughter. "Phoebe, you know you are meant to come straight home. Your fencing teacher comes to a lot of trouble to come to our house to teach you. Why are you here?"

"I'm sorry, Dad." Phoebe said meekly. "I know I'm meant to be fencing with Sensei after school. I will come straight home in future."

"Bye, Pheebs." Helga called as her best friend was led away, leaving Helga to gaze at the TV screen that showed the one person she loved more than anyone else.

**So, what do you think so far? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Audition

**OK, let's continue. And for anyone who isn't familiar with the ring-giving tradition, it's not an engagement ring. It's just a "you're officially my girlfriend" ring. Thanks for your reviews, LeDawn and BettyAwesome715.**

The commercial break came and the dancers could at last have a rest. But as Brooke Wellington-Lloyd appeared, most of the group inwardly groaned. The manager was cruel and hard to everyone but Rhonda, her daughter.

Brooke's heels walked along, right up to Nadine, and immediately, she pulled out the stuffing Nadine had put in to pad her bra. She was about to move on to pull out the padding Harold always seemed to have further down, but he said quickly "OK, OK, I'll take it out if I have to!"

Rhonda went up to Nadine and hissed "You try that trick one more time, and you won't have feet to dance with any more, got that? You're such a whor-"

"Rhonda..."

"..oly moly." Rhonda finished. Arnold had just come up. He was her boyfriend, and she knew he wouldn't be too happy to see her threatening Nadine. He was always nice to everyone he met, and always looked for the best in people. If she lost him, she'd lose everything. Besides, no one would dare outright call anyone that word. "Baby." Rhonda greeted him. "Great dancing this afternoon."

Arnold smiled. "Rhonda...I'd like you to wear my ring now." He held the ring out.

Rhonda gasped theatrically. "Oh, Arnold!" She pulled him in for a kiss.

"Rhonda, darling!" called Brooke, walking up to them. "Save your personal life for the camera, honey." Rhonda smiled and went off to fix her makeup, showing off about her ring to Lila, since she's once had a crush on Arnold when they were kids, and Rhonda was sure she'd be jealous.

Unfortunately, Lila was too sweet for that, and just gushed about how it was "ever so wonderful" that they were officially a serious item.

Brooke went to the cameraman at that moment. "Speaking of cameras, what were you doing out there? If you did your job properly, my daughter would actually be visible."

"I do have to show some of the other kids." the cameraman protested. "There are twenty."

Brooke smirked. "You know, this city isn't that big, and it doesn't have many stations. Who knows, this time next year you might just have to settle for professional family photo-taking." she said smoothly. Oh yes, Brooke Wellington-Lloyd knew how to get her way.

The next day, Phoebe and Helga watched the show by the TVs in the window of the electronics shop. Arnold was singing the newest hit song, a sweet romantic song while Rhonda danced in front of him.

"How the heck did she get to be the lead dancer?" Helga scowled. "She can't even dance well, let alone professionally."

Phoebe shrugged. "I heard Nadine saying that her mother is the manager of the show, and the whole station. Plus, she's won Miss Teenage Hairspray for the last two years. I guess most people like her dancing skills."

The girls also found out something interesting. Lila Sawyer was leaving the show for "just nine months", which left an opening for a girl "just as sweet but maybe not quite as sultry".

Helga smirked when she heard this. She'd always been a bit jealous of Lila, who was pretty, popular, and a friend to almost everyone. "Little slut." she muttered with a clear air of satisfaction.

"Wanna be one of the nicest kids in town?" Arnold said onscreen. "Cut school tomorrow morning to come to the studio audition."

Phoebe and Helga exchanged glances. Helga smirked and nodded. Phoebe smiled supportively.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as all that.

"No." Bob said when he overheard the two girls talking about it.

"No, what, Dad?" snapped Helga.

"No way is my daughter going to prance around on a silly little show!"

"It's my life, Bob, and I can do what I want with it!" Helga shot back. "If I decide that I want to audition for a dance show, I will."

"What's going on?" Miriam asked, coming in.

"I'm going to audition for a dance show tomorrow." Helga began.

"No, she isn't!" boomed Bob. "Dancing is not your future! At least your sister had a goal that suited her abilities!" Bob didn't know of any of Helga's abilities. She could dance perfectly if she made an effort.

"It's my dream." Helga protested hotly. "Just because _your _dreams are oh so wonderful." Bob mentioning her sister just made her more angry.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Bob yelled. "That's enough out of you, Olga!"

"Helga, Bob." Helga corrected, glaring at him. She was used to Bob calling her by her sister's name. Whenever he was paying attention to her, he got her name wrong sixty percent of the time.

"I think we should let her audition, B." Miriam said drowsily. "If it's so important to her."

Regardless of what either of her parents thought, Helga went to audition. Brooke was teaching the other kids the new dances.

"Look, Arnold's there. Right there!" Helga whispered. "Phoebe, pinch me, I think I'm dreaming! I can't believe I'm doing this."

"I can't believe I'm watching you do this." Phoebe whispered back.

Brooke turned at their moment and saw the auditioners. "Rhonda, look at them. This town has sure gone downhill since I was crowned Miss Hillwood."

"Mother, not more ancient history." sighed Rhonda as she continued to dance with the other girls. Brooke was daydreaming about how times had changed, then broke off to say "Rhonda, not that move, it's so risqué."

"Wake up, Mother, this isn't 1930." Rhonda pointed out. Nadine and Sheena started giggling at this point and Brooke glared at them.

It was time to get the auditioners to dance. "Proceed." ordered Brooke.

"Are you scared? We're on live." Nadine said.

"I'm sure I can cope." Helga said coldly.

Rhonda was looking over the other girls. "This one will never get a date in these hand-me-down clothes."

Brooke glanced over. "Kid, she'll never get a date until someone buys her a new nose."

"Do you dance like you dress?" Rhonda asked another girl.

"Rhonda, no need to be cruel!" Arnold began to protest.

"Would you swim in an integrated pool?" Brooke's question was straight to Helga.

The blonde smiled lazily. "Yep. It would be unavoidable, integration becoming the new frontier and all."

"Not in Hillwood." Brooke replied. "And may I be frank? First impressions are tough, and when I saw you, I knew it. If those ears weren't enough, your reply just blew it." (Helga had a monobrow and ears with oversized lobes).

Helga started walking away before Brooke was finished telling her she hadn't got the place. Phoebe didn't know what to say to her best friend, but it probably wouldn't have mattered. For a moment, a light had shone in Helga's pretty much dismal life. Brooke's cruel words had extinguished it.

**Well, that's the second chapter over. Please review!**

**I've also got a question. For those of you who are asking, obviously there's going to be a lot of Arnold/Helga in this story, and if you know this movie, you'll know that there's another pairing coming up. But should I pair Rhonda with someone? The most popular boys she's paired with are all members of the council. Personally, I'm a Rhondurly fan. What do YOU think?**


	3. Chapter 3: New Dance

**Now, onto the next chapter! Oh, and yes, I did sneak in the lyrics of "I Can Hear The Bells" (although there are intentional mistakes in them) as Helga's poem and Arnold does sing "Ladies' Choice" Thank you for reviewing, BettyAwesome715, LeDawn, Nep2uune, Love and Happiness, and berrisweet101.**

To make matters worse, Helga got caught sneaking into class and ended up with detention. Phoebe was more lucky and escaped punishment completely.

However, that's when some interesting things happened. The detention room was full of African-American kids dancing to music. Helga's eyes settled on a boy with a tall stack of dark hair in the middle of the room who was dancing like she'd never seen anyone dance before, with daring moves. Helga couldn't help but think she'd seen him somewhere before.

"Interesting move." she muttered as she watched.

"Can I help you?" snapped one of the older boys.

"I'm just watching him dance." she said. "Criminy, can't I even do that?"

"They can put anyone in detention, but they can't stop my moves and my music." the dancing boy said.  
"So, your dance got a name?" Helga asked in interest.

The boy shrugged. "I just use it to attract the women."

Suddenly, it clicked in Helga's mind where she'd seen the boy before. "Oh, I remember you. You're on the dance show. On Negro Day, right? Once a month. My friend Phoebe watches you. Personally, I don't care whether it's Negro Day or not." The kids understood that basically, her meaning was that she didn't care what colour a person was.

"Good for you." said the boy.

"So, would the dance be like this?" Helga asked, trying out the moves.

"Hey, you can't do that!" exclaimed one of the girls, looking outraged.

"Hang on..." the dancer said, watching Helga. "Pretty good for a white chick."

"So, you got any other moves?" Helga asked.

"Well, here's something I use to introduce myself." the boy said. He used made-up dance moves for each of his names. "My name's Gerald Martin Johanssen. What's your name, baby?"

"Helga G. Pataki!" Helga introduced herself, trying out her own dance moves. She was starting to get over her disappointment at the audition. "_Besides, hanging out with these kids would really annoy Bob and Miriam." _she smirked to herself.

"Well, Helga, you've got the moves." Gerald said approvingly. "You're, like, one of us."

But she didn't count on what happened next as she joined the other kids. The door opened, and Helga froze as she saw who was standing in the doorway.

Arnold was watching her. "Hey." he smiled. "Our host is going to be at tomorrow's disco. If he saw your moves, you'd be on the show in a heartbeat." He smiled at her again as he left the room.

That evening, Helga started writing in her pink poetry book. The way Arnold had smiled had left her feeling dizzy. He'd actually looked at her. Her heartstrings had been pulled, bells chimed in her head. She daydreamed about what it would be like to be with Arnold, to be dating him. That evening, she went to her closet and pulled out her fourteenth pink book full of poetry, turning to the first blank page.

"_Round one: He'll ask me on a date, and round two: I'll primp but won't be late_

_Because round three is when we kiss inside his car, won't go all the way, I'll sure go pretty far!_

_Round four: He'll ask me for my hand and then round five: We'll book the wedding band_

_So by round six, Rhonda, much to your surprise, this heavyweight champion wins the prize!" _Helga wrote, unaware of the goofy smile on her face, kneeling in front of her closet shrine.

The school disco went to plan. Phoebe and Helga arrived late, but sure enough, some of the boy dancers were acting as a band, and the host of the show was up. Arnold was in front as the singer. He was the one boy out of all the dancers who could sing, it seemed. The song he was singing at that time was full of innuendo, but it was very catchy. When the girls arrived, he was halfway through the chorus.

"..._take me home, and then unwrap me_

_Shop around, and little darlin', I've got to be..._

_The ladies' choice, the ladies' choice..."_

Helga had told Phoebe about what Arnold had said to her, and her friend was, as usual, ever-supportive. "Get out there and show them!" Phoebe said. "You can do it."

"Wait..." Helga said, spotting Gerald on the other side of the gym. The black kids and the white kids were separated by a velvet cord, but she could still talk to him. She walked up to the cord. "Hey Gerald, wanna dance with me?"

"You crazy, girl?" Gerald exclaimed. "I have to dance with my group, you have to dance with yours. It's just the way it is."

"But it's your dance. I just wanted to show off your moves to those other morons on this side." Helga said, gesturing to the other white kids who never took any notice of the African-Americans.

"Well then, why don't you borrow my dance? Go get 'em." Gerald encouraged. "Dance like you did yesterday."

A rare smile crossed Helga's face for a moment before she stepped to the front and began dancing as the band continued to play. The host's eyes were on her. And, even better, Arnold was watching her.

Rhonda, standing at the back, gasped as nearly all the white kids joined in with Helga and the black kids watched. Arnold continued to sing, completely focused on Helga. He seemed to be singing to her, which was making Rhonda scowl. As for the host, he was staring at the dancing girl, grinning and giving the thumbs up.

"_Hey little girl on a spending spree,I don't come cheap but the kisses come free_

_On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree..._

_Oh, hey little girl listen to my plea, I come with a lifetime guarantee_

_One day maybe we'll find that baby makes three..._

_It's the ladies' choice, I'm the ladies' choice_

_The ladies' choice, I'm the ladies' choice, choice, choice, I'm the ladies' choice."_

"Arnold!" cried Rhonda, but her call went unheard. Everyone else was enjoying themselves. Even shy little Phoebe moved a little, although no one saw her.

It was Phoebe who told Helga's parents all about it. Olga was home at the time that afternoon Phoebe skipped fencing to show the Patakis. She stopped by Bob's store first. "Mr Pataki, it's really important that you see this. Could you possibly come back to your house for a minute?" she asked politely.

Bob took a lot of persuasion, but she managed to get through to him, and Miriam and Olga were easy. Soon, the three Patakis were gathered in the lounge as Phoebe switched on the TV. The theme song was halfway through the roll call.

"_Sheena!"_

"_Harold!"_

"_Cookie!"_

"_Connie!"_

"_Arnold!"_

Finally, the new pink-clad member of the council of kids stepped forward, smiling more than anyone present had ever seen her smile before. "_And I'm Helga!"_

The family gasped.

"My baby sister is on TV!" exclaimed Olga. "Oh, this is amazing!"

"Criminy, Helga's considered one of the best dancers in Hillwood?" Bob said incredulously. "I can't believe it!"

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Phoebe enthused.

Everyone looked pretty happy as the host interviewed Helga about her interests, her dreams, but Phoebe caught Rhonda's false smile, and the fact that when the possibility of Helga winning Miss Teenage Hairspray came up, she could hear Rhonda say something like "Miss Hairspray is mine!"

She was also sure she caught Arnold saying quietly "We're on the air."

Up against Rhonda, maybe Helga's hopes of winning Arnold's heart wouldn't be quite so easy.

**Well, Helga's on the show, but for how long? And no doubt Bob will insist on her winning Miss Teenage Hairspray. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome To The 60s, Miriam!

**OK, so, we will continue. And BTW, I thought using Jamie O as the host would be better than using Gerald's mom, so if you don't like it, I don't really care. Thanks for reviewing, DannySamLover20, BettyAwesome715, and Nep2uune.**

Brooke wasn't pleased to have the girl who treated integration with bored acceptance on the show, especially as she knew the girl was a better dancer than her Rhonda. She was especially shocked when the host seemed to support that view and suggested the show gets rid of Negro Day and mix the black kids in with the rest of the council kids. "This is not a black-and-tan cocktail!" she exclaimed. She had to get rid of Negro Day completely before someone else thought of that.

Brooke felt later that a song that three of the council girls performed together was exactly what described Helga – the "new girl in town". Rhonda performed centre stage with Nadine and Sheena either side of her.

"_She's hip," _sang Nadine serenely as she twirled.

"_So cool!" _gushed Sheena in tune.

Rhonda swung around expressionlessly. "_I'm gonna get her after school."_

"_And yet we'd like to be like her," _sang all three girls. "_Cause she's the kitten that the cats prefer..."_

Rhonda also felt scared, because she suspected that this was the truth. Although Helga showed no interest in Arnold whatsoever, he seemed smitten with her. But every time Helga glared at him, snubbed him, or called him some mean name, usually "Football Head", Rhonda smirked. She loved it that Helga seemed to hate Arnold. She'd be especially sweet to Arnold to make him think about how lucky he was to have a beautiful, kind girlfriend rather than the cold, plain girl that had somehow gotten a place on the show. However, it didn't seem like Arnold was going to look away from the blonde girl that had captured his interest any time soon.

Detention was the "it" place to hang out, because Helga often went there, whether it was because she had to or just to hang out with the black kids. Half the other kids had to wait outside for detention, but when Phoebe tried to get in to join her friend, she was immediately let in.

Helga immediately introduced her. "Pheebs, meet Gerald. Tall Hair Boy, this is my best friend Phoebe." She'd started calling him that, half as an insult and half as a friendly nickname, as she sincerely liked the boy. She immediately noticed the reactions of her friends, though. Gerald stared at Phoebe, and then smiled, adjusting his jacket. Phoebe smiled back shyly. The attraction was obvious.

Negro Day came and went. Nothing much happened except for Brooke snapping at the fact that three of the dancers had performed the same song that Rhonda, Nadine and Sheena had done, in spite of the fact that it was a "black song" - written by an African-American person. The black host, Gerald's older brother Jamie O, stayed completely calm while dealing with Brooke. He might have been a devil at home, but in business, he could be just as smooth as his brother.

Then one afternoon, the phone rang at the Pataki home, and Miriam answered. She was jerked out of her usual stupor when she realized it was the owner of the local dress shop for teenage girls, and they wanted Helga to be their newest spokesgirl. Helga hadn't wanted to accept the offer, but one thing clinched the deal.

"Does that mean I get tons of free stuff?"

"Helga, I think those things like free stuff have to be negotiated." Miriam said. "Maybe...maybe we should get an agent for you."

Helga sighed. "I don't need an agent. I could do agent stuff myself. Even you could just act like you're my agent and I'll do all the talking."

"I don't know, Helga." Miriam said. "I don't think I should leave the house."

"You haven't left the house since Olga left home!" Helga said impatiently. "Isn't it time you went out?"

"Please, don't make me do it. I can't let the neighbours see me like this. I'll go out once I've worked off the effects of my last smoothie."

"Miriam, no one out there will care if you've been drinking or not." Helga said. "You'll enjoy being out. The times have changed. Come on, welcome the Sixties." She pulled her mother out of the house, and minute by minute, Miriam relaxed as no one looked at her for longer than half a second. When they got to the clothes shop, the owner was very enthusiastic, and Miriam finally seemed to wake up long enough to act as Helga's agent. The two of them ended up leaving the shop in sparkly blue dresses that complemented their blonde tresses and blue eyes. The two of them looked amazing. Helga's unusual happiness made her smile, and she looked so much prettier than usual without her trademark scowl. Miriam finally seemed to have awoken from her stupor, and the joy of having broken from the monotony of her life made her face so much more alive and beautiful.

The blondes changed their hairstyles for once, too. Miriam took a hairstyle tip from her daughter and tried out the pigtail look, while Helga was advised to put her hair into a high ponytail. She fixed the hair with her signature pink bow.

"Wait until Bob sees you in this dress!" Helga said. "He'll be totally shocked." She grinned, half-maliciously as they went to the cheap Italian restaurant only a few blocks from their house.

"Helga, I don't know..." Miriam said. "Bob really spends most of his time working at his store. He barely seems to notice me."

"He will in this!" Helga assured her. "You will dazzle him, I'm sure of it. It'll do him some good to notice that someone in this family besides Olga can look good."

At that moment, a voice came from behind her. "Mrs Pataki? I think I'd recognize you anywhere."

Helga and Miriam swung around. Who should be standing there but Rhonda and Brooke, faces icily beautiful and as malicious as ever.

"Hmmm? Sorry, what was that?" Miriam asked.

Helga smiled sarcastically at her co-dancer. "Hello, Rhonda."

"Hello, Helga." Rhonda replied coolly.

"Mom, this is Rhonda and Mrs Wellington-Lloyd. She's the station's manager."

"Oh, right." Miriam said. "It's nice to meet you. I'm so glad she's able to be on the show. She watched it endlessly before."

"Well," Brooke said, "Helga has...redefined the standards we had."

"That's for sure." Rhonda added spitefully.

"Let me guess..." Brooke said, surveying the women's clothes. "New dress?" Miriam nodded shyly. "I thought so." Brooke smirked. "Well, you'll stop a few people in their tracks with those. Anyway, nice to meet you." She walked off, nodding at the blonde girl. "Helga."

"Bye, Helga." Rhonda said sweetly before she followed her mother.

Miriam looked crushed. "Don't say it!" Helga warned her.

"I better just take this back..." Miriam murmured. "I shouldn't have bought it..."  
"Don't you dare! She was just trying to tear us down!" Helga said fiercely. "She just hates me because she thinks I'll beat out Rhonda at Miss Teenage Hairspray!"

**I feel sorry for Miriam. Mostly, it's her marriage to Bob that brought her down into the dozy drunk that she seems to be. But when she stops drinking such as in "The Beeper Queen" she becomes a Super-Mom, and I wanted to show that part of her in this fic. Please review!**


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